Note: This may look complicated, but it really isn't. The best way to learn is to just play, and pick up the rules as you go...
The problem with Mahjong is that there are many different styles of playing - Japanese, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Filipino, Computer... - and each style has its own set of rules for playing and scoring. Over winter study, I taught a bunch of people the style that I played, which is the cantonese version (played by most Hong Kong people), so that will be the version that I'm describing here. But remember, if you're learning mahjong from this webpage, keep in mind that you may only be compatible with some of the other mahjong players in the world...
Yup, we're the culprits that were causing all the noise pollution in Baxter Lounge, in the early hours of the morning last winter study. What can I say...Mahjong is an addictive game! It is also traditionally a gambling game, but we're well-behaved Williams students, who engage in battles of skill and luck to accumulate colorful plastic chips only, not $$$. So, fear not, what you lose by playing is only time, and what you gain is only fond memories of bonding with fellow players!!
Here is the entire set of mahjong tiles. They consist of five different elements - the balls suit, the sticks suit and the character suit, a set of special characters, and the flowers. In addition, there are dice, wind and round indicators, and plastic chips to enable scoring.
This is the way the game is set up. Players start by turning all the tiles faced down, and mixing the tiles around. Then each player stacks the tiles as two rows of 18, and arrange them to form a square with the ends sticking out.
The chips are evenly distributed among the players. They are used to keep track of scoring, and in particular, to represent money:
To be continued...
To be continued...
To be continued...
The following shows the number of points you get with various types of winning hands. Note also the numerous ways of getting bonus points. The table after that shows how much other players must pay the winner, depending on the number of points obtained.
| Hand | Name in English | Name in Chinese | No. of points |
|---|---|---|---|
(All series, no special characters) |
All series/Chicken win | Ji1 Hu2 | 1 |
(All Three-of-a-Kinds) |
All Pong | Dui4 Dui4 Hu2 | 3 |
(All 1 suit or special characters) |
Mixed Suit | Huen3 Yi1 She1 | 3 |
(3 triplets and a pair of all four winds) |
Four Little Joys | Xiao3 Si4 Xi3 | 6 |
(2 triplets and a pair of all 3 dragons) |
Little Three Dollars | Xiao3 San1 Yuan2 | 6 |
(7 pairs) |
All pairs (Seven Sisters) | Qi1 Jie3 Mei4 | 7 |
(All 1 suit, no special characters) |
Pure Suit | Qing1 Yi1 She1 | 7 |
| (1 and 9 of each suit, each of all 7 special characters)  |
Thirteen Orphans | Shi2 San1 Yao1 | 8 |
(4 triplets of all four winds) |
Four Great Joys | Da4 Si4 Xi2 | 8 |
(3 triplets of all 3 dragons) |
Big Three Dollars | Da4 San1 Yuan2 | 8 |
| (All pairs of one suit or all pairs of special characters)  |
Pure Seven Pairs |
---------
|
8 |
Way to add points to your hand (1 point per feature):
| No. of Points | Thrower/self-pick | Other Players |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | 8 | 4 |
| 3 | 16 | 8 |
| 4 | 32 | 16 |
| 5 | 48 | 24 |
| 6 | 64 | 32 |
| 7 | 96 | 48 |
| 8 or more | 128 | 64 |
Red, green and yellow chips stand for 50, 10 and 1 monetary unit respectively.
Everybody pays the winner.
Thrower of winning tile pays the winner double the amount that the others pay.
The amount that must be paid varies exponentially (?) with the number of points contained in the winning hand.
In event that the winner self-picked, everybody pays the winner double the amount normally paid (i.e. everyone pays the thrower's amount).
If no one wins, no one pays.
